CHAPTER THREE
“Y eah?” Teddy answered impatiently, still trying to work out who on earth was calling him so late at night.
He was still at Mickey’s. It had been a long and busy day, and all he wanted to do was crawl into bed. But he had a feeling that wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon.
“Um, hey, Teddy?” a man’s voice he didn’t recognize replied.
“Who is this?”
“Oh, it’s Max.”
“Okay ...” Teddy asked slowly. He didn’t know Max all that well. Certainly not well enough for the man to be calling him at midnight. Was he going to hurry up and get to the point of his call or what?
“Right. So ... I’m calling about Summer.” At the mention of Summer, Teddy’s whole body went on high alert. “Her and Laney thought it would be a good idea to get shitfaced. And, um, well, they’re not in great shape, if the ice cream covering my kitchen floor is anything to go by.”
Teddy couldn’t help but smile as he pictured a drunk Summer. “So ... you need reinforcements or something?”
He heard the man on the other end of the line chuckle. “No, not exactly. Well, maybe. A drunk wife and two kids seem to be my tipping point. And Summer isn’t exactly okay to be left alone ... so I was hoping you could come get her? Make sure she’s okay tonight?”
“On my way.”
Teddy had hung up before Max even had a chance to reply. There was no time to waste. Summer needed him. Just the thought of seeing her had his blood pumping quicker.
After locking up the bar, he practically ran back to his apartment building where his truck was parked. It was a good thing he knew exactly where Laney lived. Not that he’d been stalking Summer’s friends or anything since he’d returned to Bluestone. Or eavesdropping on any of their conversations when they just so happened to be talking about Summer. No. Definitely not.
Twenty minutes later, he was trying his best not to laugh his ass off at a very drunk Summer. He’d found her sitting on Laney’s kitchen floor, and she was currently singing some song about tequila at the top of her lungs.
“Tequila! It makes me happy ...” Summer hiccupped, humming for a moment before singing again. “Tequila ... it feels finneeee. Tequila when the doors are opened, and tequila when they're calling time—”
“Okay, dollface.” Teddy crouched down. Once he’d wrapped his hands around her waist, he gently pulled her to her feet. “That’s it, up you go.”
He continued to hold on to her as she rose to a standing position. It was clear from her Bambi legs that she wasn’t going to get very far on her own.
“Teddy,” she whisper-giggled, “do you like tequila?”
“Not as much as you do.” Before she had a chance to reply, she was up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. It was the easiest and the most efficient way he could think of to get her outside and into his truck.
“Hey! What the hell!” Summer weakly protested. She flailed around for a second before going completely still and quiet. So quiet Teddy started to get worried.
“Summer? You okay?”
“I-I can shee your butt from here,” she slurred. “Y-y-you have a nice butttt, y’know? I didn’t realize men’s butttts could be so-sooooo ... muscley. Yours is all hard. But kinda-uh round still. Huh.”
Jesus Christ.
He looked up at Max, who was trying to stifle a snigger as he held open the front door for them. Rolling his eyes, Teddy headed out and ignored the very inebriated woman over his shoulder, who was now trying to grab his butt.
A chin lift to Max later, and Teddy was opening his truck door and securing Summer into the passenger seat. Once he’d buckled her in, he rounded the truck and started up the ignition.
Summer was no less chatty on the drive back to his apartment. She asked him at least ten more times if he too liked tequila. Sang her tequila song off-key two more times. And just as they were approaching his car lot, she went back to commenting on his appearance.
“I like the-the stubble thing you got going on. It makes you ... makes youuu look kinda manly. Like, you’ve got sooooooo much testosterone, no razor is— no ! No razor can stop that beard from growing. Does that make sense? Oh, and what’s with all the flannel shirts? You were always more of a jeans-and-tee kinda dude. Not that I don’t like the flannel. I do. It’s hot. You look like some kinda ... some kinda ... lumberjack ... but like, a sexy one.”
That he did laugh at. A sexy lumberjack?
“You think I’m sexy, huh?” After putting his truck in park, he turned to her with a raised eyebrow.
Instead of answering, she continued to stare at him. She was turned toward him in her seat, one side of her head resting against the leather. Her long, blonde hair was down and in disarray around her shoulders. Several buttons of her blouse were undone and the material was skewed to the side, revealing one bare shoulder.
Despite being wrecked and looking slightly disheveled, she was still the most beautiful woman Teddy had ever seen. He could see the flecks of green in her glassy eyes more clearly and the rosy pink of her lips was more prominent. It was obvious now that no matter what form this woman came at him, he was powerless to resist. Angry, happy, sad, or drunk. She was always perfect. And he was screwed.
“Come on, dollface, let’s get you inside.”
“Why do you call me dollface?”
His smile widened. He might as well tell her. It’s not like she was going to remember much in the morning.
“I call you that ’cause ...” He let out a deep breath. “You have these beautiful, big, almond-shaped eyes. They look like they belong on a doll. Hence ... dollface.”
She won’t remember me saying this, right?
She licked her lips, not taking her eyes from him. Just that innocent swipe of her tongue made him want to groan. She was killing him.
“Beautiful?”
“Yeah, Summer. Beautiful.” He took a moment to compose himself before he said something else stupid. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”
This time when he carried her, he cradled her in his arms. Which he immediately regretted when she threw her hands around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder. She fit perfectly. Why did it have to feel so right? Damnit.
“Thanks for looking after me, Teddy,” she muttered into his shirt.
“Always.”
Once they were safely indoors, he lay Summer on his bed. Damn, if she didn’t look good in there, which was the last thing he should be thinking about right then.
After taking off her shoes, he covered her with his warmest blanket and went to get some water. She was going to have one doozy of a hangover tomorrow.
Getting her to take a few sips was harder than he imagined. He ended up with more on his shirt than down her throat. Some water was better than none though. Realizing she wasn’t going to drink anymore, he settled the glass back on the bedside table. In case she got thirsty in the night.
“Time to sleep now.” He lightly brushed his knuckles over her flushed cheeks.
Sighing in contentment, Summer snuggled deeper into the blanket. “I love it when you touch me. Makes me feel all tingly.”
Me too, darlin’, me too.
“Go to sleep, doll.” He kissed her forehead, yet somehow found the strength to drag himself away.
“Night, Teddy.”
“Night, Summer.”
Grabbing a blanket for himself, he settled in for the night in the armchair he’d dragged beside the bed. He needed to watch over her in case she needed him. Or had to vomit. Or so he told himself.
***
T eddy stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, Summer’s drunken words from last night still fresh in his mind.
After making the swift decision to shave less and buy more flannel, he bent over the sink and splashed some more water on his face, the cold sting awakening the rest of his brain cells. He needed to pull himself together. He’d slept an hour at most. Instead of dozing off last night, he’d watched Summer sleep. Like some kind of weirdo. What the hell was happening to him?
A noise from the bedroom had him hurrying up. She was awake. And he was itching to go check on her.
Looking as good as he was going to get, he exited the bathroom. He didn’t have to go very far to get a glimpse of Summer, as it was attached to his bedroom. He wasn’t prepared for the sight before him. Although he shouldn’t be surprised. The woman certainly had a habit of keeping him on his toes.
A grin tugged on the corners of his mouth. “Is there a reason you’re lying on the floor, dollface?”
Summer’s head came up and twisted to face him, her hair was sticking up in all different directions. It was really fricking cute.
“I fell,” she weakly replied.
That must have been the crash he heard from the bathroom. Thankfully, she didn’t look hurt. Just inconvenienced. “Okay ... and it was just so comfortable you thought you’d stay down there?”
Letting out a groan, she let her head drop back onto the rug. “I’m too weak to move, Teddy,” she whined. “I’m never drinking again. Why the hell did Laney let me drink tequila? She knows it’s my kryptonite.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle as he remembered Summer wailing out the lyrics to her tequila song last night.
Her face was still buried in the carpet when she spoke again. “It’s not funny,” she grumbled.
She was wrong. It was definitely funny. Making his way over to the side of the bed, he hovered over her for a moment, trying to decide how best to help her up. She didn’t seem to mind his new proximity. And when he reached around her waist to gather her into his arms, she didn’t protest either.
“Come on. Up you go. You want back in bed, or do you wanna come in the kitchen and I’ll make you something to eat?”
He could practically see her mind working. Every single thought changing her expression. She was still in his arms, and he had no plans to let go just yet. Even hungover, she managed to take his breath away.
“Food. But I feel gross. Can I use your shower?”
The thought of Summer naked in his shower had his body reacting. He could feel himself tense up. Even his jaw seemed to clench.
Jesus. Get your mind out of the gutter!
“Uh, sure,” he grunted. “You want something to wear too? Sweats? A shirt?”
Her eyes lit up at that, and she nodded enthusiastically. That was until another groan escaped her lips. “Urgh. Right, need to remember, no sudden movements. Sudden movements are bad.”
So freaking cute.
It was a shame he had to let her go in order to get her some clothes. Reluctantly, he dropped his hands from around her waist and left her standing next to the bed as he went over to his drawers. After rummaging for a minute, he pulled out some sweats, which were most definitely going to drown her, and an old T-shirt.
As he passed her the clothes, he could tell from the blossoming smile on her face that he was never going to get them back. Not that he cared. The idea of her in his clothes brought out something primitive in him.
Yeah, you really need to pull yourself together man.
He watched her stumble into the bathroom and close the door before he dragged himself away. Coffee. He needed coffee. Maybe that would help him pull his head out of his ass.
Long story short. It didn’t.
Having Summer in his space was making him feel like a teenager again. A boy with a crush. Only he wasn’t a boy anymore.
So much for thinking his feelings for her were in the past. It was clear the Summer-effect was still as powerful as ever. Over the course of just one week, the woman had already turned his world upside down. She was living in his apartment. Working at his bar. Passing out in his bed when she was drunk. And now, here he was, cooking her breakfast. She was so far under his skin, it wasn’t even funny.
“Hey.”
Teddy peered up to see Summer approach the counter. She looked almost shy. Uncertain. His clothes swamped her small frame, but he couldn’t deny he liked seeing her in them. Her hair was still wet, leaving damp spots over her shoulders and down her chest. She looked good. Fresh. And best of all. She smelled like him.
Caveman much?
“Hey,” he returned and gestured to the breakfast stool, “take a seat. I’m making your favorite—omelet with cheese, ham, and green peppers.”
“You remembered?” She gasped.
“Of course.” How could he forget? The morning he’d left for the Navy, she’d taken him to Dotty’s diner for breakfast and went on and on about how any other type of omelet sucked.
A small smile pulled at her lips. Was she thinking about that morning too? Her face as she waved him goodbye would always be engraved into his memory. Leaving her that day was harder than leaving his nan and pops.
She kept her eyes on him as she slipped onto the chair. “About last night ...” she started but abruptly stopped as he asked, “How you feeling?” at the same time.
They both let out a short laugh. Returning to the frying pan, he gestured for Summer to carry on while he made her food.
“Yeah, uh, I’m okay. Nothing a little food and some Advil won’t take care of. I was gonna say, thank you. For, y’know ... coming to get me and ... for looking after me. I’m not gonna lie, a lot of last night is still a bit of a blur, but I ... I remember you taking care of me. Sort of.”
Teddy glanced up to see her fiddling with her fingers. It was the first time he’d ever seen her look so unsure of herself. Was it him? He found himself shaking his head at his own stupidity. Of course it wasn’t him. She’s hungover. That’s all.
“Sort of?”
“Yeah.” Another short and shaky laugh escaped her lips. “I ... well, it’s kinda coming back to me slowly. Like horrifying, drunken flashbacks.”
“Oh yeah? And which parts were horrifying?” He couldn’t keep the amusement out of his tone.
He could see heat start to flush her cheeks as she bit down on those luscious pink lips. She must be remembering some of what she’d said. Trying to be a gentleman, he averted his eyes and concentrated on serving up breakfast. Once he’d set a plate in front of her, he turned back to pour her a fresh mug of coffee.
“I’m pretty sure you’re well aware of the horrifying parts, Teddy. I’m sorry though ... for what it’s worth.”
Coffee served, he studied her for a moment while he sipped on his own drink. The breakfast bar she was seated at was his favorite part of the kitchen. It was a simple floating island with a marble top and four stools scattered around it. But what made it look really good right now was Summer sitting there.
Taking a seat next to her, he breathed in the scent of his soap on her. God, she smelled good.
“What are you sorry for?”
She glanced over at him, her cheeks pinkening all over again. “I said some stuff ... and I’m fairly certain I grabbed your ass. I’m really sorry. Drunk Summer is obviously a little bit handsy.”
Teddy’s smile was so wide, it should have hurt. “No need to apologize, dollface. You’re welcome to grab my ass whenever the mood takes you.”
Obviously unprepared for that particular response, Summer started to choke on a piece of omelet. His hand automatically went to her back where he started to pat her as she continued to cough.
“Water. You want water?”
Shaking her head, she chose to take a sip of her coffee instead, which surprisingly seemed to do the trick. Even though she’d recovered, there was a lesson to be learned: his flirting needed some serious work. He was so out of practice, he was now a choking hazard.
After mumbling how fine she was into her mug, she went back to eating. This time in silence. In fact, the room was so quiet Teddy could hear his own heartbeat. And it didn’t sound very healthy.
Five whole minutes went by before either of them spoke. The tension in the room was so thick that a knot formed in his stomach and tightened with every passing moment.
This is dumb. Say something. Anything.
“Uh,” he quickly rushed out, “it’s your day off today, right?”
Did my voice just echo?
“Uh, yeah.” Summer pushed her now-empty plate aside but kept her head down.
“Up to anything special?”
Up to anything special? That’s the best you can think of? Seriously?
“Um, y’know, just the usual, life admin stuff. Uh, yeah, actually it’s getting late, I should get going. Let you get on with your day.” She was on her feet and backing away from the counter before he even had time to digest her words. And by the time he was standing, she was already out of the room, shouting her goodbyes as he heard her gather her things.
A moment later the front door banged shut.
“Well. That was fucking awkward.”